I became a god by treasure hunting after arriving 500 years early-Chapter 689 - 509: Departure of the Snake-man [Ghost]

Chapter 689 -509: Departure of the Snake-man [Ghost]

“The apocalypse is coming. If we were to die, where would you go?”

A girl’s voice, faint and intermittent, echoed in the ears of the Little Mirage Dragon.

It didn’t recognize the girl, but somehow, the voice felt strangely familiar.

“I was wondering… would you always guard our graves?”

“What if—just what if—we failed to survive the Epoch Disaster? You could choose a civilization you like to guard instead. It wouldn’t be a bad idea…” The girl’s crescent-shaped eyes gazed at it.

The dragon grew angry, expelling a cloud of murky gas.

“Ah… why are you spraying me? I wasn’t questioning your loyalty… It’s just that the bond between our Source Fire Civilization and you, well, it only existed during the Eighth Epoch.”

“In the Ninth Epoch, you should live for yourself.”

The girl sighed softly, “Alright, I’m going into hibernation now. I hope we meet again in the next Epoch… if not, then…”

“It’s alright, your Qi Fortune is strong. You’ll always find a new home.”

The Little Mirage Dragon couldn’t help but shed tears. That was its past life.

In that lifetime, it had been too prideful, dismissive of everyone.

Even though it longed for closeness deep down, it had never taken any steps toward intimacy.

As the Epochs turned, the searing memories of life became nothing more than fleeting visitors.

All the watchful waiting turned to desolation. Who could truly grasp the cruelty of flourishing and decay?

Is there really such a thing as another life?

When a flower withers, it will never bloom into the same flower again. When a leaf falls, it will not be the same leaf.

The present moment is all that is worth cherishing.

…

Gradually, the Little Mirage Dragon underwent a transformation in its life.

It was the handover between pre-Nirvana and post-Nirvana, a prelude to the past; at that moment, the wind stirred, and in this one, the heart stirred…

Then, the sun rose from the horizon.

The glaring sunlight bathed the numb faces of the people.

The [Ghost] seemed to have triggered some special mechanism and departed.

…

The departure of the [Ghost] was so sudden that people barely had time to prepare for it.

A massive shadow surged toward the Snake-man Palace, moving at an astonishing speed.

The dark rot followed its trail, leaving silence and death in its wake.

In less than half an hour, it returned to the palace, and the ancient bronze gate slammed shut with a resounding “boom.”

The world returned to peace once more.

At this moment, the Little Mirage Dragon couldn’t hold on any longer. Its proud head fell to the ground with a “thud,” blood seeping from its mouth and nostrils.

“I did it!”

“The [Ghost] is gone?”

A voice seemed to whisper comfort into its ear: “You’ve found a new family, haven’t you? Don’t dwell on it. Cherish this life.”

The voice from the last Epoch seemed to transform into a rain of light, shimmering and scattering into the deepest corners of memory.

Nirvana’s legacy consisted only of such fragments.

The history of the past had turned into a full stop.

And the history of the present was but a small comma.

…

The Little Mirage Dragon fainted, blood streaming from its orifices, evidence of severe exhaustion.

“Big Golden!” Several zoologists rushed to hold it, carefully examining its condition.

“Its spiritual power is completely drained, but besides that, it’s fine.”

“Hmm? Could it be my imagination… its baseline Ideal Energy radiation seems to have increased slightly.” The experts hooked it up to an IV drip.

However, no one paid attention to the Little Mirage Dragon’s transformation for the time being.

The priority was not to disturb it but to let it rest and recover.

Replenishing its spiritual power was the most urgent matter at hand!

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan and the others were closely monitoring the Ghost Snake-man’s movements.

The palace doors remained tightly shut.

It seemed as if the entity had fallen asleep.

The slumbering Snake-men began waking up one by one; as sunlight poured over their faces, they moved like zombies, searching for food and water.

The harrowing night had left nearly everyone mentally exhausted, wishing only to sleep for three straight days and nights.

But no one could afford to relax their vigilance, as the Ghost Snake-man could emerge at any moment.

This unpredictable situation left the group deeply unsettled.

“Comrades, for reasons unknown, the [Ghost] suddenly returned to the palace. Meanwhile, the Little Mirage Dragon is unconscious, and Green Mountain is completely undefended.”

“Can anyone speculate on possible causes?” Lu Yuan asked during an emergency meeting, “Is it the sunlight, or something else entirely?”

“It might be the cycle of day and night,” Professor Lu Tiantian suggested. “I observed that the [Ghost] emerged at 10:20 PM last night.”

“And it left in the seventh minute after dawn broke. This suggests it may have an inherent nocturnal activity pattern, losing interest in action once daylight comes.”

“That being said, sunlight doesn’t harm it, so let’s abandon that line of thinking.”

“This instinct is certainly strange. But as for the origins and purpose of an anomaly of the [Ghost]’s level, we remain clueless. It may involve deeper underlying reasons.”

Lu Yuan furrowed his brow, recalling how anomalies of the [Demon] level had an exploitable backdoor—a “control” mechanism. By expending a small amount of energy, one could control a [Demon].

“Could it be that anomalies of the [Ghost] level were also created with a similar backdoor?”

He sighed, “With the Little Mirage Dragon unconscious, we have only one Different Space left.”

“Our immediate priority is to relocate Green Mountain closer to the Opium Poppy Tree.”

“In case of trouble, I can still use the Different Space to protect everyone within it.”

“Understood!” the engineering department immediately replied. “We can complete it within a day.”

Such an action would require expanding the volume of the Different Space, which would drain more energy, but it was preferable to total annihilation.

Besides, humanity could reimburse the costs… ahem, which was actually quite important.

Lu Yuan’s expenses from last night had skyrocketed, with five thousand Spirit Essences gone. He felt justified in having humanity bear part of the costs, especially for their own protection.

Professor Sha Mo raised a hand, signaling to speak: “My suggestion is to simply invest some Civilization Points and expand the small cave. Then, we can fully house both Green Mountain and the Opium Poppy Tree within it.”

“That way, we can protect the small cave through the Different Space. The expenditure of Ideal Energy would be reduced as well.”

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“The research facilities in the small cave are far more advanced, and Green Mountain is overcrowded with too many people, impacting work efficiency.”

Lu Yuan fell silent for a moment.

If humanity’s exodus was going to take a significant amount of time, expanding the small cave would indeed be necessary.

He let out a soft sigh, “The second most pressing issue is this: according to investigations by the Dream Laboratory, the impact of the Lanpeng Civilization on the [Monster] is much slower than we anticipated. This is likely to become a prolonged battle…”

The group froze, their expressions turning grim.

Lu Yuan knocked on the table, “If the [Ghost] truly remains inactive during the day, we’ll have to dig out those 8 million hibernation chambers and engage in a slow contest with the [Monster]. Miss Conch, could you explain the specifics?”

“The current situation is somewhat complex.” Miss Conch appeared fatigued; though she didn’t require much sleep, her spirit seemed drained. “The [Monster] is reluctant to abandon its claim on such an immense reserve of Ideal Energy. It’s hesitant and cautious, as though poised to flee at any moment.”

“Furthermore, many individuals within this population are in an intermediary state of assimilation. Their souls have been partially warped under the influence of the [Monster].”

“Fortunately, their spirits and self-consciousness have already been extracted into the Dream Network…”

“Respected Green Grass Empress, pardon me for asking—can they still be saved? Not even the Mandala Fruit can help?” A surviving member of the Lanpeng Civilization asked tremblingly.

Miss Conch remained silent for a long time. “It’s highly unlikely, akin to turning a boiled egg back to its raw state. It’s as difficult as creating life itself. This is a mutation of the soul.”

“The Mandala Fruit can enhance Divine Attributes, but only temporarily.”

The Lanpeng survivor fell into despair.

Their birdlike beak clicked dejectedly, unable to articulate a response.

The humans, too, felt a wave of shock and relief. Fortunately, they hadn’t consumed the rainwater the previous night; otherwise, they might also have ended up as vegetative husks.

Lu Yuan shook his head resignedly, recalling a Dream call he had made to “comrades” from the Rize Civilization.

The Rize people attacked by the [Monster] had yet to recover to this very day.

And the [Monster] near the Rize Civilization had been a mere low-level anomaly. The current [Monster] was a veteran entity of untold longevity, capable even of contending with the [Ghost].

Recovery seemed futile.

Miss Conch continued, “But thankfully, their consciousness, along with fragments of their souls, can be extracted using my civilization’s unique technology, the ‘Green Grass Joy.'”

“This means they’ll retain their memories and self-recognition.”

“However, they’ll have to live entirely within the Dream from now on, with their creative abilities significantly diminished.”

The Lanpeng people felt both solace and grief.

Compared to the worst-case scenario, retaining consciousness was already a blessing.

“Yes, that’s why we must act swiftly,” Lu Yuan said. “Before the [Monster] spreads large-scale corruption, we need to relocate those 8 million hibernation chambers. The faster we act, the more memories and awareness we can preserve.”

Miss Conch added, “Furthermore, those 8 million Lanpeng people seem to carry a bit of Luck as well.”

“Judging from the milestones and historical development of the Lanpeng Civilization, their fates may yield approximately 3,000 to 6,000 points of Luck.”

It should be noted that humanity’s collective value was only 3,533 points of Luck.

It was possible that Lanpeng people possessed slightly more.

This was unsurprising, as they had completed several additional milestones compared to human civilization (excluding Lu Yuan’s contributions).

Additionally, their innate Luck far surpassed that of humans.

Miss Conch cautioned, “However, we can’t extract the Luck right now. If we try, the [Monster] will abandon them immediately. It’s here specifically for these resources. Pure Spirit Essence alone isn’t enough to lure it.”

“In fact, if we want to bait the [Monster] effectively, we’ll have to actively feed it a bit of Luck…”